News Director 
Story By: DAN KAPUSCINSKI / WEEDSPORT SPEEDWAY – WEEDSPORT, NY – The fifth annual Weedsport Speedway Sportsman Classic, presented by Industrial Tire of CNY and powered by Stirling Lubricants, will take place on Tuesday, July 3 with $2,500 on the line for the winner in a 75-lap DIRTcar Sportsman Series feature.
The crown jewel summer event will pit the very best in DIRTcar Sportsman action against each other in an all-new alphabet soup format, while welcoming fans into the grandstands for only $20 per carload.
“This is always one of our favorite events on the calendar,” said Weedsport Speedway promoter, Jimmy Phelps. “Sportsman are a major part of what makes Weedsport successful and we take pride in the quality of cars and action that our Spano Container Sportsman Shootout Series provides. Pair that with the DIRTcar Sportsman Championship drivers, a $20 carload special, and fireworks; all on the Independence holiday and you have a fantastic night.”
The new alphabet soup format will see all cars running either the A, B, C, or D mains with all drivers receiving a paycheck for their efforts.
Group time trials will set the heat race lineups with as many as eight heat races being conducted with the top three finishers transferring directly to the night’s 75-lap, $2,500 to win A-Main. The top two finishers will enter the A-Main redraw.
Drivers finishing in positions 4-5 in their heat race will go directly to the B-Main with finishers 6-7 to the C-Main and 8 on back to the D-Main.
The top four finishers in the 15-lap D-Main will transfer to the C-Main. The top four finishers in the 15-lap C-Main will transfer to the B-Main. Then, the top six finishers in the 15-lap B-Main will move to the 75-lap Sportsman Classic A-Main making a field of 30 cars.
The Classic will mark the fourth event in the Central Region DIRTcar Sportsman Championship with events already completed at Fulton and Utica-Rome Speedways. The third event on tour at Land of Legends Raceway saw its feature postponed to August 29 due to rain.
Shane Pecore and Kevin Root are currently tied for the Central Region championship lead ahead of Dave Marcuccilli, Zach Sobotka, Jessica Power, Jackson Gill, Will Shields, Alan Fink, Tyler Thompson and Charlie Tibbits.
Marcuccilli and Root are also on top of Weedsport Speedway’s Spano Container Sportsman Shootout Series after three events with Matt Guererri, Connor Cleveland and Shields in the top five.
The best in Sportsman racing have been coming to Weedsport on the Fourth of July holiday in search of a Classic victory since 2014, when James Michael Friesen became the first driver to win the 75-lap crown jewel.
Friesen topped Sportsman superstars Rocky Warner and Dave Marcuccilli for the win that year, with the Classic becoming an instant hit.
Since then, the Sportsman Classic has become a must-see event for dirt track fans.
Last year Dave Marcuccilli once again rose to the top, becoming the first driver to score a Classic win twice behind the wheel of his No. M1 machine, to go along with his 2015 triumph.
Included in the night’s schedule will be the RUSH Late Model Series as well as the NY6A 600cc Microsprints. A huge fireworks display will cap off the Independence Day holiday for fans in attendance.
Best of all admission for the evening is just $20 a car load, so be sure to bring the entire family. Single adult general admission is $15, kids 11-17 is $5, with kids 10 and under FREE.
